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105mm TK BE Smoke Shell

P

peregrinvs

Well-Known Member
A new project... I acquired this at the War & Peace show in July, but have only just retrieved it from the friend I left it with. There's some impact damage to the ballistic cap (which I'm planning to conceal with a fuze cover) but otherwise it's quite restorable. Pre-cleaning pictures:

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And after scrubbing off as much loose rust as possible and a wash:

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The original paint seems to stop level with the drive band, so that'll save a lot of filling and painting. It's now started a long soak in dilute citric acid to strip it back to bare metal. The markings stamped on the body aren't yet legible, but the fuze was made at ROF Chorley in March 1965.

I'm after a British 105mm TK RW303 coded case for it if anyone has one for sale or knows of one?

Cheers,
Mark
 
After a week in dilute citric acid and two scrubs with a wire brush it's now mostly metallic. But not quite clean enough to start the filling and painting yet.

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I'll also need to clean the copper off the surface of the brass.
 
Have finished with the acid bath and have given it a polish with a wire brush wheel on a drill. I've also scrubbed off the copper bleed through on the fuze with some fine wire wool.

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Now onto the filling and painting. As you may have noticed, it has a pitted side and an unpitted side. I assume this was caused by one side being exposed to the elements for many years and the other lying against the ground. Unfortunately the stamped on markings were mostly on the pitted side and only a few remain. The pitting above the drive band will be concealed by filler and paint and the pitting below will be concealed when I - hopefully - find a 105mm TK RW303 case.
 
Good news: have finally tracked down an example of the correct RW 303 coded case for the shell.

105mm TK BE SMK RW 303 case (2).JPG105mm TK BE SMK RW 303 case (3).JPG105mm TK BE SMK RW 303 case (4).JPG105mm TK BE SMK RW 303 case (5).JPG

Fits in nicely with the 1965 dated fuze on the shell as well. They don't fit together yet as there's a dent in the neck, but hopefully a blow torch and a padded hammer will convince it.

Oh, and finish restoring the shell of course...
 
Making gentle progress...

The shell will now fit in the case after employing the good old 'use the pointed end of a projectile as a mandrel' trick. It was a bit of a pig to get out again afterwards, but I got there in the end.
 

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peregrinvs said:
Good news: have finally tracked down an example of the correct RW 303 coded case for the shell.

View attachment 133164View attachment 133165View attachment 133166View attachment 133163

Fits in nicely with the 1965 dated fuze on the shell as well. They don't fit together yet as there's a dent in the neck, but hopefully a blow torch and a padded hammer will convince it.

Oh, and finish restoring the shell of course...
Click to expand...

Been meaning to ask... What is the correct primer for this type of case? Would the same primer be fitted to the RW 242 practice HESH case?

Thanks,
Mark
 
Nearly there... I decided to go with the reverse masking method for the lettering.
 

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The Primer Electric L2A1 and 2 were used in the RW303 case.
The Primer Electric L1A1, 2, 3 or 4 were used with the RW 242 case and is much longer primer.
 
Finished. Huzzah!:tinysmile_grin_t:
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There are various imperfections if you look closely, but overall I'm pleased with it. Compare and contrast to my original pics. The markings are partly inspired by a spec sheet another forum member was kind enough to send me and partly inspired by pictures of original rounds found online - so I won't claim they are 100% accurate to this specific shell. I was pleased to find a near contemporary 1961 dated No.390 fuze cover for the 1965 dated fuze, although annoyingly it is slightly 'short legged' and doesn't cover the fuze completely.

The original colours would have been BS381 216 Eau de Nil for the body and BS381 499 Service Brown for the markings. I've used Humbrol 36 Pastel Green Matt and Humbrol 10 Service Brown Gloss as inexpensive substitutes. This was followed with a spray of matt clear coat to even it all out.
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I've been working on this on and off for over a year, so it's nice to get it 'signed off' at last.

Cheers,
Mark
 
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